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FHP: Drunk wrong-way driver causes fatal crash

Posted at 4:04 AM, May 09, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-09 17:12:13-04

Troopers say a drunk wrong-way driver caused a fatal head-on crash early Monday morning near the Port of Tampa.

The two-car crash occurred around 12:14 a.m. in the northbound lanes of South 50th Street (U.S. 41) just north of Dover Street.

Troopers say the 2001 white Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible was heading southbound in the northbound inside lane of 50th Street when it crashed head-on into a 1999 Honda Civic going northbound in the inside lane of 50th Street.

After the collision both vehicles rotated around with the Eclipse ending up in the grass median and the Civic in the northbound outside lane.

The driver of the Civic, 35-year-old Joel Vargas-Gonzalez of Tampa, sustained fatal injuries and died at the accident scene.

Authorities say the driver of the Eclipse, 23-year-old Ronal Vasquez-Gonzalez was drunk at the time of the crash. He suffered minor injuries and was taken to an area hospital for treatment. Upon his release, Vasquez-Gonzalez will be charged with DUI Manslaughter and Driving with No License Causing a Death